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The Tragic Data From the 49 Deaths Caused By Selfies Since 2014

From gun shots and grenades to planes, trains and rooftops...

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Research released relating to the 49 deaths caused by selfies in the past two years has produced some truly bewildering data.

The estimated 28 deaths caused by selfies in 2015 is more than double the eight caused by shark attacks in the same year, 11 more than were caused climbing Mount Everest and on level with the amount of deaths caused by skateboarding.

The survey has shown that the deaths have majorly been caused by selfie-takers falling from heights or drowning, though more obscure cases have included the Mexican 21-year-old man who accidentally shot himself while taking a selfie with a gun and the two Russian teenagers who tragically blew themselves up while posing for a selfie with a live grenade in the Ural mountains.

“A third of all overall selfie-related deaths were caused from falling from height…”

Other unfortunately bizarre examples include the Cessna pilot who crashed and killed himself and a passenger after losing control of the plane while taking a picture and the man who attempted to take a selfie at the running of the bulls festival in Spain and was fatally speared by one of the animals in the process.

It has proved particularly dangerous to take a selfie on a cliff or roof edge or while swimming, with 30 of the 49 deaths caused in such ways, and a third of all overall deaths caused from falling. This is a fact that parallels the rise of “danger-photos” and urban exploration, with many dangling off buildings, climbing cranes or walking rooftop edges for photographs.

Several people have also been killed while taking selfies on top of boxcars on trains, only to be killed by livewires or falls quickly after.

“Men make up 36 of the 49 selfie-related casualties…”

In a rather alarming statistic, 19 out of the 49 selfie-related deaths, a massive 40%, have happened in India, followed by seven in Russia, five in the USA, four in Spain and the Philippines and two or one in several others. This may be down to the tragic fact that roughly 20% of all drowning deaths occur in India each year, and that most of these deaths are teenagers or young adults who never had the opportunity to learn how to swim.

One horrific incident tells of the moment seven boys drowned on a lake in Nagpur in India after flipping their boat while trying to take a photograph of themselves. A similar incident occurred with another four boys who drowned after slipping into the Narmada Canal. These tragedies have not gone unnoticed by Indian authorities and the government have declared 16 “no selfie zones” throughout the country, where lifeguards are also present.

Screenshot: Flaviu Cernescu risks life on the egde of a chimney, juggling oranges (via – YouTube).

Russia also rolled out a large campaign recently targeted at reducing the number of deaths caused in their country in a such a way.

It’s important to remember that the 49 deaths explored in the study are only the known incidents, and there have almost certainly been more unreported selfie-related deaths that have occurred.

The studies have also interestingly shown that men are significantly more likely to die in this way than women, making up 36 of the 49 casualties.

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